Among the influences on Project Pedestrian is the Text Walking project of Calgary-based artist Baco Ohama, where she gathers text found while walking (signs, graffiti, posters) and uses them as sources for poetry, artist books, postcards, and videos.

Baco and I met in the early 1990s in Montreal when we were both doing MFAs at Concordia University. For a year, we were housemates along with Mike Smart, sharing a 7 1/2 on the Plateau, and Baco and I often walked through the city together. We haven’t lived in the same city for decades, but we’ve stayed in touch, and in 2021, as the pandemic lock down eased, Baco invited me to contribute to her Regina Walks at Regina’s Dunlop Art Gallery. Gathering text for Baco while wandering through the city was a really stimulating exercise; with Project Pedestrian I’m trying to remain mindful of the close observation that Baco uses when she’s walking through a city.